Understanding Of Intercultural Competence Research Articles

Jewish and Arab lecturers teaching Jewish and Arab teachers how to teach in the ‘other’ society: Insights into the development of intercultural competence in a high-intensity conflict society

This study focused on the Leadership in Cross-Cultural Teaching Program (Cross-Teach), which retrains academics to become teachers in the ‘other’ (Jewish vs. Arab) educational stream in Israel, a high-intensity conflict society. The research aimed to uncover lecturers' understanding of intercultural competence (henceforth, IC), investigating how they perceive it should be imparted to pre-service teachers operating across intercultural boundaries. Nine lecturers, representing diverse backgrounds and extensive experience, were interviewed and the transcripts were used as data for qualitative analysis. This research presents a novel perspective on IC among educators, emphasizing comprehensive skills ranging from cognitive and emotional dimensions to identity exploration. Diverging from existing literature, our study uniquely focuses on identity and conflict as an essential component of IC among teachers. The lecturers delve into the reciprocal learning environment, exposing participants to identity conflicts and fostering intercultural encounters. The inclusion of diverse Arab and Jewish lecturers further enriches our exploration of identity formation. Our findings illuminate the complex dynamics, challenges, and opportunities for IC within a society marked by high-intensity conflict.

Understanding Intercultural Competence in Moroccan EFL Education: Perspectives and Practices

In an era of increasingly diverse educational landscapes, understanding how EFL teachers perceive intercultural competence is crucial for fostering inclusive and effective language learning environments. This mixed-methods study unveils the varied range of perspectives among Moroccan EFL educators affiliated with different Moroccan educational institutions. The sample ensured gender balance and exhibited a range of teaching experiences, spanning from 3 to 15 years. Additionally, the participants covered various teaching levels, contributing to the study's demographic diversity. The quantitative findings reveal strong agreement on its importance (Mean Score: 4.42) and active integration into teaching practices (Mean Score: 4.58), with a positive impact on student achievement (Mean Score: 4.62). Notably, the slight variability in training perceptions (Variance: 0.075) underscores the need for tailored support. Complementing these, qualitative insights delve into individual experiences and challenges, emphasizing the importance of personalized training. This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of intercultural competence in Moroccan EFL education, providing valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers aiming to enhance language learning experiences in diverse cultural contexts. In the wake of overwhelming agreement regarding the pivotal role of intercultural competence, this study champions the call for targeted professional development opportunities. Therefore, by tailoring interventions to address specific needs related to training and resources, we envision a future where educators feel not only empowered but also well-equipped to adeptly traverse the complexities of diverse cultural terrains, fostering a shared commitment to excellence in education.

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE MODEL OF INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE OF FUTURE PROFESSIONALS OF SOCIONOMIC PROFESSIONS

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that intercultural competence should be inherent in almost every professional, especially in the socionomic professions. This article describes the necessary prerequisites for conceptualizing the model of intercultural competence of future professionals in socionomic professions. The purpose of this article is to proceed on the basis of the generalization on the conceptualization of the model of intercultural competence of specialists of socionomic professions taking into account the challenges and requirements of modern society. We used theoretical methods in the study, namely analysis, abstraction, generalization, explanation and classification. The author analyzes the most typical and used definitions of the studied phenomenon, which are found in the scientific achievements of researchers and the basic concepts that underlie their interpretations. Based on the analysis of the scientific literature on this problem, we have attempted to identify and characterize the leading structural components of intercultural competence of socionomic professions: motivational, cognitive, activе, communicative, conative. Based on the generalization of theories and models of intercultural interaction and intercultural competence of researchers, an attempt was made to define the conceptualization of the model of intercultural competence of socionomic professions taking into account modern challenges. The development of this model will provide a fuller understanding of intercultural competence in the context of the peculiarities of the professional activities of specialists in socionomic professions and understanding the approaches to its formation. Further understanding of the relationships between the components of intercultural competence and the leading factors, that have a significant impact on them, will be the basis for producing hypotheses on their nature and detailing of character of relationships between them, which will allow us to understand the system of intercultural competence of socionomic professions in higher educational institutions.

Fostering higher level cultural learning among tourism students through virtual interaction

ABSTRACT This research presents a joint project between Texas A&M University and CBS International Business School, designed to bring awareness to students’ understandings of other people, cultures, feelings and behaviors. While both explicit and implicit cultural knowledge helps shape our interactions with others, it is the deeper level of understanding that creates cultural competence, allowing one to work and communicate effectively with varying cultures. Applying the Iceberg Concept of Culture and Deardorff’s understanding of intercultural competence, we show the effect virtual interaction can have on higher-level cultural learning amongst students. Through interactions, knowledge was co-constructed organically and caused a frame of reference shift. Pre- and post-interaction culture themes demonstrate a move toward cultural competence. This study shows the value of human interaction and the importance of education by offering face-to-face cultural exchanges through virtual discussion. Implications for educators and the potential of virtual travel experiences are discussed.

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

PRYSHLYAK Oksana – Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Foreign Languages Department, Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatyuk National Pedagogical University, Kryvonosa Str., 2, Ternopil, 46024, UkraineE-mail address: pryshlyak_o@yahoo.com ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3108-502X ResearcherID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/F-3895-2019 LUPAK Natalia – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Pedagogy and Methods of Primary and Preschool Education Department, Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatyuk National Pedagogical University, Kryvonosa Str., 2, Ternopil, 46024, Ukraine E-mail address: lupak@elr.tnpu.edu.ua ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7868-8771 ResearcherID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/I-7018-2018 To cite this article: Pryshlyak, O., & Lupak, N. (2019). Intercultural competence in foreign language teaching. Liudynoznavchi studii. Seriia «Pedahohika» – Human Studies. Series of «Pedagogy», 8/40, 185–200. doi: 10.24919/2413-2039.8/40.164457. Article history Received: January 12, 2019Received in revised form: February 14, 2019 Accepted: February 18, 2019Available online: April 22, 2019Journal homepage: http://lssp.dspu.edu.ua/ p-ISSN 2313-2094e-ISSN 2413-2039 © 2019 The Authors. Human studies. Series of «Pedagogy» published by Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University & Open Journal Systems. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).Abstract. The article reveals the understanding of intercultural competence in foreign language teaching. Teaching culture in foreign language teaching has remained an unsolved problem for many years. The relevance of the study is to identify the readiness of the English language teachers to implement intercultural competence at English language lessons. Teachers of a foreign language are the first people who introduce pupils to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the world, open the child’s consciousness to the knowledge of other cultural realities, traditions, behavioral models, values, etc. The realities of the modern world prove the importance of forming pupils’ multicultural consciousness, associated not only with countries of the target language, but also with other cultures whose representatives can communicate in the target language. However, the readiness of foreign language teachers to meet the modern challenges of society, which is related to the development of intercultural competence in pupils, has not been sufficiently highlighted in professional pedagogical education. The authors investigated the level of readiness of foreign language teachers for the development of intercultural competence in pupils. Data were collected from 78 foreign language teachers from four regions (Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi region) by means of a questionnaire. Study presented teachers’ understanding of intercultural competence and culture, attitudes to intercultural competence teaching, applications and actual teaching practices in foreign language classroom. The article reveals the attitude of the English language teachers to implementation of intercultural competence in foreign language teaching classroom. Findings revealed two distinct teacher profiles, i.e., the favourably disposed foreign language teacher, who integrate culture into their classroom practices and the unfavourably disposed foreign language teacher, who did not support this practice.Acknowledgements. Sincere thanks to the pedagogical staff of Ternopil National Volodymyr Hnatyuk Pedagogical University, in the person of Prof. Vira Polishchuk.Funding. The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Experiencing the Other: Students’ Construal of Intercultural Competence

The demographic, technological, economic and peace imperatives have created a world in which our interactions are dominated by cultural differences and our ability to understand ‘the other’. Intercultural competence is thus a necessary skill for individuals to build positive communication with others. This paper explores students’ construal of intercultural competence. Specifically, we highlight their experiences interacting with the other and their understanding of intercultural competence. Using a qualitative approach, focus group interviews were conducted with the selected undergraduate students from three universities in Northern Malaysia. The findings indicate three important themes: attitude, cultural knowledge and language skills. The paper contributes to specific factors needed of intercultural competence within the Malaysian context.

Keywords, semantic domains and intercultural competence in the British and Taiwanese Teenage Intercultural Communication Corpus

This paper reports on a corpus analysis of samples of intercultural discourse among a group of British and Taiwanese adolescents, exploring the statistically salient lexical features in online and spoken communication based on the British and Taiwanese Teenage Intercultural Communication Corpus (batticc). I employ a frequency-driven approach throughout the study to obtain insights into how language is used in these two different communicative settings. By the analysis of a keyword method and an extension to a semantic level using the Wmatrix corpus analysis tool, this study highlights the linguistic domains which deserve particular attention. Specifically, the key semantic domain analysis revealed the themes adolescent participants are mainly concerned with, and it revealed particular lexical choices with a great number of cultural and social differences between different groups of participants in the two modes of intercultural communication. The examination of the concordances within the key semantic categories further showed intercultural competence exhibited in batticc, including attitudes of curiosity and openness, relational knowledge, skills of discovery and interaction, and critical culture awareness. This study demonstrates the merit of key domain analysis in the understanding of intercultural competence and intercultural discourse in online and face-to-face settings.

Student intercultural competence in a Malaysian campus: a phenomenological approach

ABSTRACTThis study offers a Malaysian perspective on intercultural competence. Specifically, we examine how the students of various nationalities portray their intercultural competence acts in everyday situations. Drawing upon a phenomenological approach, we explore their experiences interacting with the locals and their discourse on intercultural competence. We collect data from in-depth interviews with selected individuals. The findings are presented in two themes that describe the essence of intercultural competence: cultural understanding and language ability. The analysis not only adds to current understanding of intercultural competence, it also contributes to the emergent literature on intercultural competence that takes into account lived intercultural experiences in Malaysia.

Assessment of intercultural competence of vocational teachers in Croatia

Due to the changes in society and the new era of “super-diversity” (Vertovec, 2007) in European countries, intercultural competence is gaining importance both in everyday life situations and teacher training. In the academic year of 2014/2105, a research was conducted on a sample of 136 prospective secondary school teachers undergoing their pedagogical-didactical-methodological training in different universities in the Republic of Croatia. The tool that was employed in the self-assessment of intercultural competence was called Recognising intercultural competence: What shows that I am interculturally competent? The results showed that the examinees perceive their intercultural competence quite high; attitudes (M = 4,09); skills (M = 4,12); knowledge (M = 4,02). There is no significant difference between the perceived dimensions (p = ,282). Further research is recommended to better understand the insights about the examinees’ understanding of intercultural competence.

Developing Cultural Intelligence for Global Leadership Through Mindfulness

Understanding how businesses function in relation to cultural and societal influences is critical for today’s business leader who wants to interact competently across borders. However, developing and evaluating such competence is a challenge. One concept that provides a holistic conceptualization of intercultural competence is the notion of “mindfulness” or the ability to use reflection as a connection between knowledge and action. To facilitate the intercultural learning of a group of MBA students studying global leadership during a cross-cultural immersion experience in China, a model of cultural competence was introduced during their predeparture sessions. In order to demonstrate their understanding of intercultural competence, student papers were analyzed using a coding scheme for reflection. Data show that, overall, students increased their level of “mindfulness” and became more reflective, and in our hopes, more culturally sensitive as a result of this cross-cultural immersion program. Implications of this study can be used for teaching international business and improving study abroad assignments through reflection.